Support Public Health Terps December 10!

The School of Public Health is calling on all alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends to give on December 10, 2014 to support undergraduate student scholarships for public health students. Each school and college can qualify for matching scholarship funds by getting the most donors. Sign-up now to get a reminder for the 24-hour giving challenge on December 10, so that we can help even more students meet their financial needs this year.

The School of Public Health raised approximately $9,000 to support student scholarships during the first UMD Scholarship Day, held in 2013. We were grateful for all who gave to support students - your help matters! Meet some of our undergraduate students who received $1,000 scholarships from 2013 UMD Scholarship Day.

2013 UMD Scholarship Day Recipients

Ruby Abaka-Yankson
Behavioral and Community Health, Dec. '14

Ms. Abaka-Yankson was born in Ghana and came to the United States for college. "Global health is of great interest to me, so I am applying to graduate school with a concentration in Epidemiology and Global Health," she said. "This scholarship will help me pay for outstanding fees and would be a great relief to myself, as well as my family." Ms. Abaka-Yankson added that this scholarship would help ensure that she was able to get her degree from the University of Maryland.

David Burke
Family Science, '15

Mr. Burke said that the scholarship he received would help him to finish school. After signing up for a winter class to ensure that he could graduate by the end of the academic year, he was unsure of how he was going to meet his rent payments. "With this scholarship, I can afford to pay for rent and groceries for the next couple of months," he said. Citing his student loan debt, Mr. Burke said that receiving the scholarship was "quite the blessing."

Sydney Callahan
Behavioral and Community Health, '15

After completing her major in community health, Ms. Callahan intends to pursue a career in employee wellness. "I truly believe that my purpose in life is to improve the lives of others," Ms. Callahan stated. "By living a healthy lifestyle, a person can avoid disease, injury and premature death. I am going to educate others about how to live a healthy lifestyle, so that they can have a high quality, long life, and it all starts with the degree this scholarship is helping to fund."

Kevin Kresloff
Kinesiology '14

Mr. Kresloff described himself as a health conscious individual, which motivated his selection of the kinesiology major and led to several influential courses and internships. "I spent time working at a chiropractic clinic, which opened my eyes to the type of work they perform for patients," he said. Mr. Kresloff is considering attending chiropratic school, once he completes his Bachelor of Science.

Mr. Kresloff said that he was extremely grateful to be a scholarship recipient. "I have been paying for a majority of my college education since I transferred from Montgomery County Community College. My personal money that I saved for college is now close to used up, and gaining this scholarship means a lot." He added that the scholarship would be a relief in funding his spring semester of classes.